Once your business embraces content marketing as a key tool for lead generation, you will find yourself on the treadmill that is the process of feeding the content machine, and at some point you will struggle to find ideas for your next piece of content. Re-purposing old content is a great way to reduce the burden of creating content on a consistent basis. This article identifies nine ways that you can take content you have previously created, and turn it into fresh new content, without the level of effort required to produce new content from scratch.

When you think about the advance of technology in society in the last decade, the progress has been phenomenal – just take a look at these examples to see how far we have come in such a short space of time. Now, think about education. Think about the technology in your school ten years ago – perhaps a computer suite with an unreliable bank of PC’s; CD-ROMs; discs; slow, irrelevant programs; staff scared of using IT; and so on.

Digital portfolios are something that are really starting to take off in schools. There are different software programs that will make “portfolios” easy to share, yet do we truly embrace the power that a digital portfolio can bring into our schools? Since it is “digital”, we need to go beyond a portfolio that only represents one year of learning, but can show the progression over time.

Disney researchers have demonstrated that light bulbs can do more that just illuminate our rooms — they could communicate with each other, with objects and with the Internet, to create ‘smart’ environments.Transmitting

The IoT is something all arts technologists need to consider adding to their world. Beacons were a start. Google Glass was interesting. Disney is clearly moving into new arenas with RFID and now using light as a stream of information.

Disney researchers have demonstrated that light bulbs can do more that just illuminate our rooms — they could communicate with each other, with objects and with the Internet, to create ‘smart’ environments. Transmitting signals via light is nothing new; Alexander Graham Bell showed that speech could be conveyed with light in the 1880s, years before speech was first transmitted via radio. The Disney researchers, however, have created networking technology that makes it possible for LED lights not only to communicate with each other, but to do so in a way that is compatible with the Internet and its technical protocols. Stefan Mangold, who heads Disney Research’s wireless research group, said these advances could give Visible Light Communication (VLC) an important role in the growing Internet of Things — the idea that objects can communicate with each other and share information to create smart environments. “Communication with light enables a true Internet of Things as consumer devices that are equipped with LEDs but not radio links could be transformed into interactive communication nodes,” Mangold said. “We’re not just talking about sensors, smartphones and appliances. This easily could include toys that have LEDs, creating an Internet of Toys in which toys can be accessed, monitored and acted on remotely,” Mangold said.

The researchers used off-the-shelf commercial LED light bulbs that they then modified so that they could send and receive visible light signals. These modifications included a System-on-a-Chip running the Linux operating system, a VLC controller module with the protocol software and an additional power supply for the added electronics. The researchers created software that makes the signals transmitted through this hardware compatible with Internet protocols.

Makes sense for a standard / traditional non-touch interface. As an iphone/ipad person, I find Android more intuitive, but I see Windows 8 on more dell laptops. And soon Mozilla will enter the fray . . .

Now, a solution to an overlooked problem: digital tools for independent arts organizations. Today, non-profit arts service Fractured Atlas has announced their new web-based software system, Artful.ly....

Wasn't aware of this program provided by Fractured Atlas, but for small- to mid- sized arts organizations, why not give this free open-sourced Cloud-based ticketing/CRM a try? Depending on the usability of the program, claims to “give independent artists and small- and mid-size arts organizations the same technology and marketing power as major cultural institutions” may actually be valid.

With all of this technology available, I am left wondering if at some point in the future will there will be so many technologies and systems employed by numerous organizations that coordinating and syncing between the systems may be impossible? The next problem to solve for future generations?

For small- to mid-sized arts organizations, an efficient tool could be a huge help. However I agree with Dan's concern on the coordination between too many different technologies and systems in the future. Also, people might need to balance the benefits new tech brings and the intangible costs of personnel training and organizational change. —Su

I'd suggest a lot of the more innovative university programmes are already doing much of what is suggested here. One thing to emphasise is supporting students to use digital tools specifically for learning as they generally already know how to use these tools. In otherwords, while students may often be digitally competent, they are often less digitally literate in terms of learning processes. Also, what refer to PDAs - surely old tech?

This ebook was designed with English language teachers in mind but should have some value for any teacher who is interested in developing their students’ digital literacy and critical thinking skills.

The book contains a wide range of suggested activities for both the creation and exploitation of infographics in the classroom.It also helps teachers with tips and advice on how to plan and create infographics and suggestions for which tools to use to produce different types of infographic.

All true. Writing is hard but writing is essential for content generation. Writing can take many forms (video, audio, etc.) but it is a mental pursuit to find the structure and meaning you intend to convey.

If you have set up a blog for your business, either on your website or as a stand-alone endeavour, you need to feed the beast with regular blogs. This can be easier said than done, especially after the initial enthusiasm has waned, and ideas for posts are harder and harder to find. Advice from successful bloggers can be most useful if you have hit such hurdles, and this article provides great pointers on how to maintain a regular schedule of blog posts.

Social media marketing is rapidly becoming a mainstream activity for both small and large businesses. In order to determine whether or not you are getting a decent return on your time and effort, you need access to a wide range of social media analytic tools. Fortunately, many are available and this excellent article highlights 18 social media analytic tools, most of which are totally free or offer a less features free offering.

5 Videos explain the different elements that Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter and PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann see with regards to the IoT and it's impact on firms. Important stuff to comprehend. For instance:

Making the Transition: “For many companies, the change from the traditional manufacturing model, to this new world of smart, connected products is a daunting organizational transformation,” says Heppelmann in his fifth video. Yet there are techniques companies can use to make the transition, he advises. One is to form a cross functional steering committee that oversees a smart, connected products program, or initiative. Another is to form a center of excellence by drafting talent from different parts of the business to develop best practices for the broader organization. Another is the formation of a new business unit so that other business units that can then retain a strong focus on the traditional aspects of the business.

“These are all transition techniques, probably all temporary techniques, on the path to some new normal that could be years down the road by the time a company really masters where they’re going,” concludes Heppelmann

Virtual Reality has a lot of potential but seems to be hung up in the VC and pro-sumer category. The content available is thin and the barrier to entry for users is financially significant for a basic consumer pattern. The health concerns are also concerning. HD TV didn't have this many things stacked against it and it never really made it. It will be interesting to see how things develop.

If you are working in a classroom where your students have internet connected devices, either through wifi or their mobile phone, using a backchannel can have a transformative impact on the way you can use technology with your students.

Brett.Ashley.Crawford's insight:

Arts education is digital as well -- take advantage of some of these standard tools.

Apps and online tools can make your more efficient, for sure! If you're looking to discover a few for 2014, here is a great start. I've used a few myself. Take a look and see if one of these would make a difference in your business.

So now, if you're a brand that wants to take advantage of Pinterest but finds original visual content too high a resource investment for you to make, you don't have to be left out of the Pinterest game. You can pin, say ... those awesome blog articles you're always writing!

The article pins will now include critical information in a more prominent fashion that helps your written content get traction, including

- Story Headline

- Author Name

- Description of the Story (like your meta description)

- Source URL

Now you might be saying to yourself, "Self, I used to pin my articles on Pinterest, anyway." Well, good for you for being scrappy -- but now those pins will look waaaay better. The biggest difference? The images will be bigger, and critical information like your meta data is displayed more prominently....

In the simple reframing from technology to empowerment of people, I believe there’s something everyone one of us -- whether designer, programmer, entrepreneur, investor, teacher, student, parent, or child -- can learn from Red.

Chunks, bits and short modules make learning more manageable and easier to integrate into long-term memory. Long classroom or web-based training courses may accomplish the function of training, but rarely achieve desired retention rates. Instead of just dumping information on the learner, employees are expecting the content to be easy to find, relevant and digestible in the way their brains process information.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.